Three years of preparation for a three-hour performance the impressive work of historical research and musical preparation led by Mathilde Etienne and Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, at the head of the ensemble I Gemelli, comes to fruition this March with the re-creation of Roland, an unjustly neglected work from Lully’s repertoire, at the Royal Opera of Versailles. 
By 
Today is a day of immersion with the ensemble I Gemelli during a rehearsal of Roland, Lully’s penultimate opera, performed on March 9 at the Royal Opera of Versailles with bass-baritone Jérôme Boutillier and mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes in the principal roles. Inspired by Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, the work tells the story of the madness of its eponymous hero, devastated by the rejection of Princess Angelica, who prefers the young and delicate Medoro. Borrowing from the codes of commedia dell’arte, the score blends burlesque and poetry in the elegant language of librettist Philippe Quinault. Over the course of a rehearsal at the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, conductors, singers, choir, and instrumentalists reveal the production’s inner workings: three years of research, work on declamation, and musical preparation to bring one of Lully’s most singular operas back to life. Total Baroque Magazine was invited to join them for a behind-the-scenes look at the project!
The Final Stretch
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